Ambient Temperatures... on the RiseMelamine cages are great cages for Bearded Dragons. They are bright (if made from white laminate), stackable, easy to clean and hold heat very well; often only requiring 30-50 watt spot bulbs to heat the enclosure. Although this is a very efficient way of maintaining bearded dragons, these cages do have some draw backs. The biggest draw back being a lack of venting/airflow. Ours have air holes drilled throughout the back and some styles have vents placed in the sides or back. In any case, many of the designs could use a bit more air flow to allow the heat to escape. Going through a season change from winter to the first hot/warm day in spring can be particularly dangerous to dragons in melamine cages that do not offer proper ventilation. In the winter on our stack of 4 cages we use a 65 watt bulb in the bottom cage, then a 50 watt bulb in each of the two middle cages with a 30 watt bulb on the top. Heat rises so less wattage is needed on the top cages. Our winter-time ambient house temperatures are in the high 60's to low 70's. As spring hits and warmer weather sets in, temperatures in homes can easily shoot up into the low 80; thus effectively causing the temperatures in cages that have poor ventilation to rise 10-15 degrees. For instance, if your winter-time bulbs generate a basking spot of 105-110 and an ambient cage temperature of 84-88, the combination of those same bulbs with the onset of warmer weather can easily cause your basking spot to climb to 115-125 or more with ambient temperatures ranging from 95-105. Ambient temperatures that rise this high even for a short length of time will result in heat exposure, which can be a deadly situation. Reducing the wattage of your bulbs in the spring-time, while trying to maintain a proper basking area, is usually not an effective solution. During the spring-time , especially in the colder climates, daytime highs can be in the 50's one day and 80's the next day. This will effect ambient house temperatures, thus also effecting the cage temperatures. Who wants to be constantly changing bulbs according to the weather outside? One way to help prevent dragons from excessive heat exposure, while still maintaining a good basking temperature (especially during the erratic springtime high and lows), is not to decrease the wattage of our bulbs, but to increase the ventilation in your cages. Increasing the ventilation will allow more heat to dissipate, thus lowering the ambient temps within your cage - without reducing the wattage of your bulbs. We usually receive several phone calls during the spring-time pertaining to dragons overheating and dying. These calls are usually from owners that are working during the day and not at home to monitor and adjust house temperatures via opening windows or turning on the AC. Dragons that are easily effected are ones that are kept upstairs in cages without good airflow. Decrease your dragons risk of overheating by increasing your cage ventilation, and keep those lower wattage bulbs for more stable warmer weather . Tip - Easy Venting for Sliding Glass Cages |